Eldridge j



(No Model.)

E; J. SMITH.

CHAIR.

No. 538,708. Patented May 7, 18 95.

ATENT Futon.

ELDRIDGE J. SMITH, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 538,708, dated May 7, 1895.

Application filed August 9, 1894.

.To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELDRIDGE J. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chairs; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others. skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in easy chairs, and more particularly to a chair having a flexibly connected and freely movable back-section or panel whichis adapted to, accommodate itself to the back of the occupant of the chair, whereby the upper part supports the shoulders and the lower portion supports the small of the back of the occupant.

My invention further consists in a chair having a back-section or panel formed of flexible slats each one of which is free to move independent of the others, said slats being secured to the arms or frame of the chair by means of a flexible non-metallic strip or band, whereby the back-section or panel as well as the individual slats will be free to swing back and forth and at the same time adapt itself or themselves to the curvature or form of the back of the occupant of the chair and insure perfect ease and comfort.

My invention further consists in an easy chair wherein the arms forming the backframe are pivoted at the front or forward portion of the chair seat, and are adapted to be adjusted to various angles or inclines, and finallyrmy invention relates to means for operatin g the pivoted back frame, and in locking the same in its inclined or adjusted position.

To these ends my invention consists in the novel features of construction and new combinations of parts, hereinafter described and more definitely pointed out in the claims.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make, use and construct my said invention I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being had for this purpose to the accompanying drawings, wherein--' Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rockingchair constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is arear view of the back Serial No. 519,914. (No model.)

section or panel and frame forming the back of the chair. Fig. 4 is a detail View of part of the mechanism for retaining the chair-back in its inclined position. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the metal bracket or supporting-arm for the reclining chair-back, with the operating cog-wheel detached.

Referring to the drawings the reference letter A, designates the back-section or panel which, in this'instance, is composed of a series of flexible slats a arranged close together and secured in line to a strip or band B of leather, rubber, duck or other suitably flexible material, by means of tacks, screws or other fastening devices, said slats being so connected to the flexible band as to have a separate or individual, as well as a combined movement. The ends of the flexible strip B are rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the arms or back-frame C, and about midway thereof. The object attained in this construction is to allow the slats to be self adjusting to the back of the person, either by tilting backward or forward as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, or by the yielding quality of the flexible and elastic strip B, which will permit the slats to adjust themselves to the shapeof the back of a person as will readily be seen. The slats forming the back-section or panel, being flexible, also aid in the easy adjustment to the person occu'pyin g the chair. The arms or back-frame C, of the chair are connected together at their upper ends by means of a cross-piece D, which serves also as a head rest, and can be padded or cushioned as desired. The lower ends of the arms or back-frame are pivoted at their forward ends, as at E, to the chair-frame L.

The reference letter F, represents a supporting arm or bracket preferably formed of metal, and provided with laterally projecting feet b, having orifices b, through which screws or other fastening devices pass for attaching the same to the under side of the arms or back-frame. These supporting arms or bracktive position, passes through the slots F in the supporting arms F, and the pinions H mesh with the rack G. The rod J, has also secured thereto a ratchet wheel J; and the chair-frame L has a lever K pivoted thereto, and provided with a tooth K, adapted to engage with the teeth on the ratchet Wheel J, whereby the chair-back is held secure in its reclined or adjusted position.

The manner of operating the chair is as follows: Should the occupant desire to lower the back of the chair from an upright to a reclining position, all that is necessary for him to do, is to raise the forward end of the lever K until the tooth K is disengaged from the ratchet-wheel J, and the back-frame will, immediately, by its own gravity drop or tilt backward, being guided in its descent by means of the pinions H, operating or riding over the racks G. To raise the chair back, the occupant simply turns the rod J by means of the hand-wheel I1 and the back will then be raised to any desired inclination, and will be held in such position by means of the tooth K. It will be noted that these operations are all accomplished by the occupant while he is seated in the chair, and with the greatest ease.

The seat of the chair, which is flexible, is secured to the side rail L of the chair frame and has a concave depression in its center so that the rear and front of the seat extend above the surface of the side rail so that they will yield to a person until arrested by corning in contact with said rail.

In the present instance I have shown my invention as applied to rocking chairs, but I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to this class of chairs particularly, for it will be obvious that it can be equally well applied to chairs with stationary feet.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In an easy chair, the combination with the frame thereof provided with back supporting standards, of a flexible non-metallic strip rigidly connected to said standards, and a series of independent flexible slats secured intermediate their ends to the flexible strip, each of said slats being free to move independent of the others, substantially as described.

2. In an easy chair, the combination with a pair of arms pivotally connected to the front portion of the chair frame and extending rearwardly therefrom, and a connection between the upper ends of said arms, of a flexible non-metallic strip or band having its ends rigidly secured to the pivoted arms, and a series of independent flexible slats attached to said band, each of said slats being free to move independent of the others and adapted to be automatically sprung back into alignment, substantially as described.

3. In an easy chair, the combination with the pivoted back frame or arms provided with downwardly extending brackets having a series of pins projecting laterally therefrom forming a rack, of a padded connection between the upper ends of said arms, a flexible non metallic strip or band rigidlysecured to the arms, a series of independent flexible slats attached to said band, each of said slats being free to move independent of the others, a rod journaled in the chair frame and provided with pinions which mesh with said racks, and means for operating said rod and pinions to adjust the back-frame to various inclines, substantially as described.

4. In an easy-chair, the combination with the frame thereof,of a pair of arms pivotally connected to the forward portion of said chairframe and having a leather strip secured to the rear side thereof, a series of flexible slats connected to said leather strip,a head rest D connecting the upper ends of said arms, for wardly curved brackets attached to the under side of the pivoted arms and provided with curved elongated slots, racks on said brackets along one side of said slotted portions, a rod J journaled in the chair-frame and passing through the slots, pinions II on said rods meshing with the racks on the brackets, hand wheels H on the ends of the rod, a ratchet-wheel J secured to the rod, and a hand lever K pivoted to the chair-frame, and provided with a tooth K, said tooth engaging with the ratchet-wheel, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ELDRIDGE J. SMITH Witnesses:

J. W. REYNOLDS, H. W. J ONES. 

